DVD/HDD recorders using DVDs and HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) as storage media are widely used to record various contents. A user may record broadcast contents onto an HDD of a DVD/HDD recorder and view recorded contents, and may further move or copy his or her favorite contents from the HDD to a DVD to keep the contents for a long time. To enable a longer recording time, the demand is increasing for a larger memory capacity of DVD/HDD recorders.
Conventional DVD/HDD recorders have met the demand for a larger memory capacity, by installing more storage media therein and handling storage areas of the storage media as one logically-integrated storage area (hereafter referred to as a “virtual-drive storage area”). As one example, Document 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-052466) discloses a technique for controlling one content stored as being divided into a plurality of storage media, to enable the divided parts to be played back continuously. Here, HDD cartridges, which are easily connectable and removable, may be used as the storage media additionally installed in DVD/HDD recorders. As one example, Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application No. H10-362972) discloses a technique for managing such easily connectable and removable HDD cartridges.
The storage media management method disclosed in Document 1, however, may be faced with a problem when one content is stored as being divided into a plurality of storage media. If a storage medium storing a part of the content is removed from the DVD/HDD recorder, playback of the content once started from its first part is suspended at such a missing part. The suspension of playback may upset the user who had already viewed the first part and expected to view the entire parts of the content, and in turn may disinterest the user in viewing the content.
With a prospective widespread of easily connectable and removable storage media, this problem is expected to appear more frequently. Therefore, the urgent task now is to find solutions to this problem.